Harrower Summer Opera Workshop

May 27 - June 16, 2019

Discover the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop, a unique program with a relaxed yet professional atmosphere in the heart of Atlanta – the hub of southern culture and hospitality. This intensive three-week workshop began as the brainchild of Peter and Irene Harrower to offer the best training for aspiring opera performers and directors by recognized working professionals. The training culminates in performances of two fully staged and costumed operas and an opera scenes recital. Training includes acting classes, daily movement classes, stage combat classes, foreign language diction, private coaching sessions, seminars and master classes with international artists.

The remarkable faculty at Harrower includes Carroll Freeman, artistic/stage director, Classical Singer magazines’ 2010 Stage Director of the Year and the Valerie Adams Distinguished Professor of Opera Studies at Georgia State University; W. Dwight Coleman, executive/stage director, winner of the National Opera Association opera production competition; and Rolando Salazar, Assistant Conductor/Chorus Master of the Atlanta Opera.

The Harrower Summer Opera Workshop offers three tracks of study:

Young Artist Program is for more advanced singers. Applicants admitted to this program will sing roles in the final fully-staged productions.

Studio Program is for singers looking to improve their skills in a nurturing, yet intensive environment. Participants selected for this program will sing ensemble roles in the productions. Studio participants may qualify to move up to the Young Artist Program. If they elect to do so, their tuition will increase to the Young Artist Program tuition.

Directing Internships are designed for a collegiate voice teacher who directs opera or an aspiring stage director. The selected intern(s) will receive an award of full tuition.

Angela Brown

Angela Brown personifies the ideal soprano: sheer vocal power; luxurious finesse; and shimmering, high pianissimos. With a charming personality larger than life, she unites opera, pops, and gospel in one sensational voice. A featured artist on the two-time Grammy Award® winning recording “Ask Your Mama,” Angela’s international reputation continues to grow.

Her highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Aida captured instant attention from international print and broadcast media and catapulted Angela onto the world’s prestigious opera and symphonic stages. Headlines from The New York Times read: “At last an Aida,” and CBS Weekend News proclaimed: “the future of opera has arrived!” followed by features on the front page of The New York Times, on CNN, in Oprah Magazine, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Classical Singer, Reader’s Digest, and Psychology Today.

Recent new milestones for Angela include singing on the Grammy Award®-winning recording of “Ask Your Mama,” composer Laura Karpman’s setting of the poem by Langston Hughes of the same title and co-starring in the new American opera, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird in the 2015 world-premiere performance with Opera Philadelphia. She reprised the role of Addie Parker in historic performances at The Apollo in New York City in 2016, for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Madison Opera, and in London at The Hackney Empire in 2017. She joined the National Chorale as soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Lincoln Center in November 2016 and Hawaii Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem in April 2017. This season includes solo appearances with The Atlanta Opera, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Astoria Music Festival, Portland Summerfest, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, American Spiritual Ensemble USA tour as well as performances of Opera…from a Sistah’s Point of View in the USA.

A noted interpreter of African-American spirituals, Angela released Mosaic, a collaborative recording featuring spirituals with guitar and piano, in October 2004 from Albany Records. In 2005, a live Christmas concert with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Indianapolis Opera Chorus was recorded by WFYI-PBS and broadcast throughout the United States. She guest starred on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor radio show in 2009. In July 2010, Angela was presented in Shanghai at the World Expo 2010 as a guest of USA Pavilion and the United States Consulate. Angela was the only opera singer invited to perform for the USA Pavilion. She also opened the One Nation Working Together Rally in Washington, DC, by singing the National Anthem on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and was selected by Marvin Hamlisch to premier his song composed for her and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir in honor of The Indianapolis Prize.

A 1997 National Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions Winner, Ms. Brown received her Bachelor of Music degree in voice from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, where she studied with Ginger Beazley. She attended the Indiana University School of Music as a student in the studio of Virginia Zeani. Ms. Brown received the Indiana University African American Arts Institute’s inaugural Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award in 2006, given annually to recognize outstanding contributions made in the arts by former members of the Institute. Ms. Brown is featured in “Nineteen Stars of Indiana,” a book by Michael S. Maurer about nineteen, living Hoosier women with successful and inspirational life stories, released by Indiana University Press in December 2008. Angela is a proud recipient of the Indiana University Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the Governor’s Arts Award from the Governor of Indiana, a Spirit of the Prairie Award from Conner Prairie in Indiana, and a member of the Indianapolis Public Schools Hall of Fame.

Performances

Seasonal Scenes

Stage Director Kay Paschal

Thursday, June 13 at 7:30pm

Directors Notes - Seasonal Scenes

Join Harrower Summer Opera for an evening of extraordinary operatic excerpts. How often can one enjoy a lyrical experience that offers such a smorgasbord of diverse and delicious flavors? And to taste so many divine dishes can certainly be more satisfying that an entire meal of mutton. But this program offers more…

Some of the brightest and best, representing members of the heralded Harrower Summer Opera 2019 Young Artist Program (YAP), will take you on a sojourn celebrating our earth’s revolution: with the budding birth and blossom of Spring; the sweaty swelter and sizzling sensuality of Summer; the crisp crack of Autumn’s first cinnamon chill; and the brittle bitterness and deathly cold of Winter.

Take that journey with us around the Sun and savor scenes of all seasons… Seasonal Scenes.

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Cosí fan tutte

Stage Director Carroll Freeman

Friday, June 14 at 7:30pm

Saturday, June 15 at 3:00pm

Directors Notes - Così fan tutte

Once upon a time, Mozart’s librettist Lorenzo da Ponte created a timeless and universal story: the ongoing battle of the sexes. For that reason, of all operatic works, Così fan tutte has sported the most interesting and innovative variations, proven with recent extraordinary productions by the Metropolitan Opera; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Staatsoper Berlin. These are only a few examples of the resilience and power of Così and its popular place as a staple in the operatic diet. My own experience in the premiere of Peter Sellar’s version set in Despina’s 1980 diner was an eye-opener.

Despite the current popularity of Così fan tutte (statistics rank it the 14th most frequently produced work), it had a rocky beginning. At Mozart’s death Così had been performed infrequently, and, thereafter, its offensive subject matter kept it locked in the closet, resurrected only in heavily censored productions. Da Ponte died in New York before his Così had made its American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1922. After only a century in the United States, Mozart and Da Ponte’s Così fan tutte has earned its rightful place in the standard repertoire, but it is still in a precarious position…its unique demands are challenging…but not so much in the hands of Harrower Summer Opera’s awesome talent!

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Le nozze di Figaro

Stage Director W. Dwight Coleman

Saturday, June 15 at 7:30pm

Sunday, June 16 at 3:00pm

Directors Notes - Le nozze di Figaro

Mozart’s le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is remarkable for the amount of action on stage. The plot is taken from Beaumarchais’s comedy, La Folle Journée ou Le Marriage de Figaro which was a sequel to his earlier play, Le Barbier de Séville, where Count Almaviva was assisted by the barber, Figaro to secure the hand of Rosina despite the objections of her guardian Doctor Bartolo. In Mozart’s opera, the Count has now grown tired of his wife and is making romantic gestures toward Rosina’s maid, Susanna who is engaged to Figaro, now the Count’s valet. While one could imagine updating the story to reject modern day political intrigues, we have decided to set the opera during the period in which Mozart intended in hopes to better realize the composer’s intentions.

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Location

All performances will take place in Florence Kopleff Recital Hall

15 Gilmer St SE, Atlanta, GA 30303

Directions to Kopleff Recital Hall

From the North: Take I-85/75 South to the Courtland Street exit (Exit 249A); turn right on Edgewood Avenue; go one block (Hurt Park is on the left); turn left onto Gilmer Street (a one-way street). The Florence Kopleff Recital Hall is located on your immediate right in the Arts and Humanities building (on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue and Gilmer Street).

From the South: Take I-85/75 North to the Edgewood/Auburn Avenue exit (Exit 248B); turn left and continue straight on Edgewood. Go straight one block (Hurt Park is on the left). Turn left onto Gilmer Street (a one-way street). The Florence Kopleff Recital Hall is located on your immediate right in the Arts and Humanities building (on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue and Gilmer Street).

Riding MARTA: Take the North/South or the East/West line to the Five Points station. Exit toward Peachtree Street. After exiting the station, turn right onto Decatur Street. Go through the first traffic light ( Park Place), and then turn left at the next light (Peachtree Center Avenue). Stay on Peachtree Center Avenue to Gilmer Street (second light) and turn right. The entrance to Kopleff Recital Hall is immediately on your right.

Tuition and Fees

Application Fee: $50.00

Young Artist Program Tuition: $1,300.00

Studio Program Tuition: $750.00

All fees are non-refundable.

Applicants acknowledge that, should they be accepted into the program, all tuition and fees must be paid in full by Friday, May 10, 2019. Participants who are not paid in full by May 10, 2019, will have their slot and housing canceled. For participant cancellations made after May 10, 2019, the full tuition and housing fee is incurred.

On-Campus Housing

On-Campus housing is optional for participants.

Participants in the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop who choose on-campus housing will be housed in Georgia State University’s dorms. Housing will be provided from Sunday, May 26 – Monday, June 17.

Housing is $1,500 for the 3 weeks and is all-inclusive of:

Meal Plan

Bed & Bath Linens

Wi-Fi Access

Fitness Center(certain locations only)

Check-in: Sunday, May 26 between 2-6pm.Check-out: Monday, June 17 before 11am.

Housing must be paid in full at the time of registering. The deadline to request housing is May 10, 2019.

Application Deadlines

Thank you for your interest in the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop! This page contains all the information needed to complete the application process.

Please read the following information carefully before submitting your application. There is a non-refundable application fee of $50.00 due at the time of submitting applications. Be prepared to fill out the application in its entirety. There is no way to save and return to the application. You will be asked to upload the following documents during the application:

Professional headshot

Performance resume

Short, 75-word bio

PantherCard compliant photo (NOT headshot)

Three audition video links (online auditions only)

All participants must be 18 or older on or before the start of the program.

PantherCard Photo Requirements

All participants will be issued a Georgia State University PantherCard upon arrival. The PantherCard issued is your key to most buildings on campus during your time at Georgia State. The PantherCard Office is very strict in their acceptance of photos. Please adhere to the following Georgia State University PantherCard photo requirements:

The photo must be taken in front of a solid white or light to medium blue background.

The photo must be taken centered on full-face view, directly facing the camera, with the image from the base of the neck/top of shoulders, upward to top of head within the photo borders.

You are not permitted to wear a hat or head covering unless worn daily for a religious purpose or for medical reasons supported by medical certification. Your full face must be visible, and the hat or head covering may not obscure the hair or hairline or cast any shadows over your face.

Any jewelry worn must not obscure the face in any way.

Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or similar items are not acceptable in your photo.

If you normally wear prescription glasses, a hearing device, or similar articles, they may be worn for your photo (make sure to avoid glare if wearing prescription glasses).

Dark glasses or non-prescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless you need them for medical reasons (a medical certificate may be required).

DO NOT SUBMIT A PHOTO OF AN EXISTING STATE OR COLLEGE ID CARD.

If your photo does not meet the criteria, you will be asked to resubmit a photo until an acceptable photo is given.

Live Auditions

Live Audition dates have passed for the 2019 Harrower Summer Opera Workshop.

Online Auditions

Online auditions are being accepted. Online auditions consist of video performances of three arias, one of which must be in English. Applicants submitting an online audition must upload their videos in the form of unlisted YouTube videos. All videos must adhere to the following guidelines:

YouTube uploads must have your name in the title and/or description of the video.

Each aria should be its own video.

Each video should be no more than 5 minutes in length.

Aria selections do not need to be from the repertoire of the current year, although they can be. Selections in similar styles are welcome.

Please read the Application Information tab carefully before submitting your application. There is a non-refundable application fee of $50.00 due at the time of submitting applications. Be prepared to fill out the application in its entirety. There is no way to save and return to the application. You will be asked to upload the following documents during the application:

Professional headshot

Performance resume

Short, 75-word bio

PantherCard compliant photo (NOT headshot)

Three audition video links (online auditions only)

All participants must be 18 or older on or before the start of the program.